The Hizuris' Black Sheep
by Fae 206
Summary: (Future Set) Kuon and Kyoko Hizuri are world-known, award winning actors but what impact has this had on their three kids. When fifteen year old, Rikuu Hizuri starts to fight on the streets of Japan he finds out that some of his battles are in his mind. How will this affect the Hizuri family and how much are his parents willing to give up for family? - Psychological Topics -
1. Chapter 1 - Just Like His Father

AN: I know I have so many fics. I'm going to have to figure out how to update them but I think I'm going to focus on the ones which get the most reviews because that shows which ones people like more. However, I have had this idea in my head for a while and was encouraged to write it by a review from Erza on 'The Little Prince'

 **The Hizuri's Black Sheep**

 **Chapter One: Just Like His Father**

Rikuu Hizuri slammed his fist against the wall and grimaced. This was definitely not the worst pain that he had had tonight. It was one thing that he had been bullied in his schools and that he had failed to live up to the high profiles of his parents but he had this build up inside of him of so much hate. He wasn't the perfect Hizuri. He had heard from his father that the disappointment was something That his parents didn't share in. He had heard that his father had been so unruly that he had been sent to Japan on his own to create a new life.

His own parents were too protective to do that for him. It made disappointing them even worse.

As he tried to cLear his head and get the blood off of his fist, Rikuu heard a sound beside him as he saw a middle aged man leaning against a brick wall. "You get it out of your system?" Kuon asked as he looked at his son with a neutral expression on his face. He was pretty good at hiding his angry and negative emotions in public.

"Are you following me?" Rikuu asked bitterly as he stared at his father. "Are you here to disown me from the Hizuri family now that your eldest son is bitter and jaded and twisted!" he yelled as he tried not to show how scared he was of his father's reaction.

"I'm allowed to and no, you are my first son, I would never disown you. I've been through all of this myself and so I find it my responsibility to make sure you haven't hurt anyone in a way that can't be undone," Kuon walked over to his son and grabbed his shoulder. "We should go somewhere and talk, I promised your mother that I would bring you home but we can get something to drink."

Rikuu stared at him again before nodding nervously.

Rikuu was a dark blond, his hair was more of the color of wheat than Kuon's golden strands. He had one brown eye and one green which led to people talking about him as if he was some kind of freak. He was somewhere in between his parents in height and had an athletic frame. He was said to have inherited both his parent's beauties. It was a shame he didn't match up to either of them on the inside.

"You should probably talk to the paparazzi over there," Rikuu gestured behind Kuon who sighed and looked over. Rikuu studied the man. He looked like a nerd, his red hair was the color that his mother had before she decided to keep it black. His glasses made it hard for Rikuu to tell what shade his eyes were and he had on an American letterman jacket. He really was someone who stood out. Rikuu ran his fingers through his hair as he expected his father to use his charming charisma to get this out of the papers.

However, as he looked down. Rikuu felt a hand covering his forehead and he got into a defensive pose. He was shocked to see that his father was looking at him very concerned with his palm on his forehead as if he were a little kid. Actually, this was the exact way that his father had always checked for a fever even when he was a toddler.

"Dad - you're -" he looked at his father's concerned expression. This seemed different.

"Are you okay?" Kuon asked as he tried to look around the area. They were the only two standing there. He didn't know what his son was talking about and that worried him. "Listen, we'll sort out what to do when we get home but you have to answer me honestly. Did you take any alcohol tonight?"

"Dad, I'm fifteen, who would -" Rikuu tried to argue and Kuon raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. "No. I haven't had anything to drink. Drinking doesn't help…now can you please do something about that guy?" he asked and Kuon looked back again very confused.

"Drugs? Have you had anything or did anyone give you anything?" Kuon looked at him before staring into his son's eyes and frowning. "Your eyes aren't dilated," he said warily. "How's your sleep? I know that you've been awake a lot at night, have you been getting any rest?" he asked and Rikuu nodded.

"Yes, I've -" he hesitated nervously, "Dad, what is all of this about?"

Kuon looked at him even more concerned and took a step towards where Rikuu had been gesturing that the man was, the man that his son could see. He looked around the area and Rikuu watched as the man looked at him but didn't even make contact.

"Dad, what are you doing? You can talk to him," he said as Kuon turned again and stared at him.

"There's nobody else here," he said as Rikuu paused and looked at his father horrified. "I wouldn't lie to you," Kuon said worried. "We're the only two in the area."

This was now the scariest part of the night.

…..

…..

As Kuon came back to the house, he put a hand on Rikuu's shoulder and looked at him with the same concern in his eyes. "Do you need help wrapping up your hand?" he asked and Rikuu shook his head. "Okay, I think your mother and I still need to talk to you," he said before hearing the sound of his five-year-old son.

"Daddy!" he giggled and Kuon picked him up, holding him close. This was Kazuuki – yes the double u was something that Kyoko and Kuon had discussed before Rikuu was born – and he looked like a black haired mini Corn. He had green eyes and was an adorable child who had a mix of features of both a young Corn and a young Kyoko. He had been said to be very intelligent for his age and loved to sing and perform. He often gave his mother performances of his acting talent when they played dress up.

Following after him was Isabella who was nine. Isabella was a blond version of a young Kyoko who had her mother's eye color. Isabella, often called Bella, was already an actor and had been in a number of dramas. She was said to have inherited both Kyoko's and Kuon's talent and technique. It was starting to show though that she would be better in the talent department as a talk show host or mascot than an actress because her passion was the off-screen work.

Whatever she wanted to do most was what her parents would support her in.

"Mum's been pacing again," she said as she looked over at Kyoko who walked over to Rikuu and wrapped her arms around him. Bella looked at her little brother and sighed. "Don't crowd Dad, he's had a hard night."

"I want Daddy," Kazuuki smiled as he wrapped his arms around Kuon's neck. "Daddy said that he would read with me tonight. I want to show him that I can read better now."

"That so," Kuon said before looking at Kyoko who was noticing that something was wrong with her eldest child. "Is it time for bed?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded.

"They both had dinner," she smiled brightly before seeing Kuon hold out his hand for Kaguya and went upstairs with their youngest two. Kyoko looked at Rikuu as Kuon had left them and she flicked him in the head, her eyes showing her frustration with him.

"So, where did you go tonight?" she asked him as she smoothed out his hair. After all of the fear that Kyoko had gone through over having children, it had all seemed to disappear as soon as she had held that tiny baby in her arms for the first time. After that she and Kuon had had two more children and she hadn't looked back or ever regretted her decision.

"Mum! I didn't mean to - I didn't want to -" he argued and Kyoko blinked.

"I'll warm your meal up and then we'll talk about it," she said with a sigh. "Right now I'm glad that your father found you and that you're alright. We'll discuss everything after you've had something to eat." She took a look at his fist, "and after I've wrapped that for you. You know. Your father might think he understands more than I do about all of this, but I know how it is to feel desperate and if you dare to think that you're a disappointment to us then I'm going to have to reeducate you on our family."

"I didn't do well on my math test," Rikuu said whilst Kyoko was grabbing the medical supplies. "I really tried to work out how to do everything this time and -"

"Were you distracted?" Kyoko asked whilst showing no judgment in her voice. "I've seen your work, I know what you're capable of. It's as if you self-sabotage. Your father had trouble with that but he managed to work his way out of it."

"Does it matter," Rikuu sighed. He didn't want to say that he thought somebody had been talking to him or he had been telling himself he was going to mess up. He didn't know how to tackle the issue after seeing his father's face with the man that only he could see.

"We're just trying to help," Kyoko whispered as she placed a hand on his cheek. "Honey, if there is anything that I can ever help you with then I'd like to know. We're here for you even though we don't seem to be doing a great job at it. Now, have some food with me," she said as she heated up the noodles that she had made the family. Usually they loved eating as a family but Kuon had gone out to make sure that Rikuu was alright. With the way that he had looked though, there was trouble brewing underneath.

As Rikuu ate the dinner that Kyoko had prepared for him, he kept thinking about the voice that he had heard during the test, the person that his father couldn't see. He bowed his head. "Mum, if I'm crazy -" he hesitated as Kyoko watched him.

"We'll still love you," Kyoko tried to remind him, "but what makes you think that."

"I…I saw somebody today that Dad didn't," he told her and Kyoko paused not knowing how to react, "I keep hearing things in my head and -" he started shaking as he put down the soup spoon and closed his eyes. He felt himself breaking inside. This definitely didn't sound sane and he could imagine his dad coming down with a suitcase and throwing him out of the house.

Kyoko was struck silent as she saw her son start to cry and shake. The words were repeating through her head and she looked at the table. Was her son really mentally ill? It didn't matter to her. "Rikuu," she said as she gently pushed his hair away from his eyes. "Honey. It's okay. We'll figure it out. It's going to be okay."

"I don't belong here," Rikuu told her and Kuon walked quickly into the room hearing this. He placed a hand on the table and looked across at his son who appeared to be struggling within himself.

"You are loved so much, unwaveringly and unconditionally. We don't want you to be anywhere else," Kuon told him as he looked at his wife. He didn't know how they were going to handle this but he knew that they had to do all they could to try.

 **End of Chapter One**

 **Thank you for reading. Reviews make me feel loved**


	2. Chapter 2 - We Love You Unconditionally

**AN:** I really hope this chapter makes sense as I wrote it in three different sittings. I hope you enjoy it 😊

 **Chapter Two: We Love You Unconditionally**

Rikuu held to himself nervously as he sat in his bedroom. He saw the door open and a man walk in who he hadn't seen before. He had to think clearly. There was no reason why this man would _be_ in his house. Was this just another mirage? An image projected from his mind. The man looked a lot like a European and Caucasian Yashiro would look. He had to keep calm and try to grip onto the situation.

"Hello, Rikuu," the man said as he pulled up a chair and Rikuu took nervous breaths in and out. He was fifteen. He shouldn't be going through this. He ran a hand through his dark blond hair and closed his eyes. "You should always keep your eyes closed, you're such a freak with them. It's as if they had trouble deciding what color to be just like your dad's when he used to wear contacts."

"You're not real," Rikuu whispered but heard the man laughing at him.

"Do you know why they didn't ground you? They don't think you're even worth grounding anymore. They don't care about you because they know how much of a freak you are. You can't convince them that you aren't. If the media found out about you, you'd ruin their careers. Your mother is disgusted by you as for your father…well, he only sees you as a monster, a psychopath." The man said as he sat down on the bed and Rikuu pushed up to the wall, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"You aren't real. There's no way that you could be here," he said as he tried not to show any fear.

"Is that so?" the man asked before grabbing him and Rikuu could feel his grip. "Can you feel this. If you were dreaming this up, could you feel pain? I'm a friend of your father's from when he did his international shoots. He called me here because I'm supposed to take you away. Nobody in this house cares about a monster like you. You're a danger to normal and healthy people."

Rikuu shivered as he saw blood covering his arm. He felt tears in his eyes as he lost the short battle with his fear. This man wasn't here. This man wasn't real. "I'm not going with you. My parents love me, they wouldn't send me away."

"They hate you especially the man you admire. Your father wishes that he could disown you but think what kind of frenzy the media would be in then." The man pushed him onto the bed and took out a switchblade from his pocket. Rikuu heard his own breaths and he felt the tears in his eyes as he started shouting out for the one man who would either save him or hurt him more than anyone could.

"Dad! Dad, please! Please, Dad!" he said as his voice was loud enough to wake Kyoko up and before he could do anything the man's hand was around his neck and he felt as if he was being choked. The door opened and he saw his father wearing his pajamas but also a baggy sweater standing there.

"Rikuu?" he asked as he approached his son, he could hear the breaths and he could see that his son was in pain but other than that he didn't know what was happening. His son looked as if he was suffering from a panic attack. Acting out of instinct, Kuon came to the bed and Rikuu saw him push the other man away before wrapping his arms around his eldest child.

"I've got you, Rikuu," Kuon whispered as he saw his son shaking and pulled him tighter into him. "I've got you. Cry as much as you want to, I won't judge you. I love you. Please trust in me," Kuon said as Rikuu closed his eyes and shook, crying as much as he used to when he was smaller. Kuon rubbed his back before looking up and seeing Kyoko standing in the doorway concerned.

"I have him," Kuon told her as Rikuu clung to him as if he were a little kid who had had a nightmare. "He'll be okay. I'll stay with him."

Kyoko nodded but walked over to her son anyway and kissed the top of his head, "We both love you, we love you so much."

"Can I go to a therapist?" Rikuu asked and Kuon nodded.

"We'll try to find the best for you. I want you to stay home from school tomorrow. We need to figure this out, the three of us. We do love you. We would never want you anywhere else than with us," Kuon said as he looked at his son.

"Thanks Dad, thank you Mum," he said to both of them and Kuon smiled supportively. He wanted his son to get better, he just wasn't sure what better actually meant.

…

…

The next afternoon, Kuon got off the phone with Lory – who seemed to have the rare power to live forever – and smiled weakly. They had booked an appointment with the top therapist for this type of psychiatric illness. He was scared but he was scared _for_ his son. There was so much judgement in the world and Rikuu seemed to have a tough enough time as it was.

He looked down nervously as he thought back how his father had tried to get him to see a doctor after Rick had passed away. It hadn't helped him but then he had refused to go and had had to be talked into it. This was a different ball game and Rikuu _wanted_ the help.

As he stood from the sofa, he saw the door open and smiled at Kyoko who was watching him concerned. "I've got an appointment for tomorrow morning," he told her. "Kyoko if this doesn't work then I need for us to work on this together as a family. I need to know that -"

"Kuon Hizuri. I accepted every part about you didn't I? Why would I not love my child, any of my treasured children, why would I have anything less than unconditional love for them. So, Rikuu has another hurdle to jump over. It's not as if we haven't met people who thought they had seen things before. Rikuu is special and he's my son, our son." Kyoko ran her fingers through her long black hair and sighed as she looked at the ceiling. "Did you want me to take him?"

"I think that might be what's best for him. I wouldn't know what to say in those situations and I think that RIkuu might feel better if you go with him. You've always taken -"

"And if RIkuu wants you to go with him?" Kyoko asked as Kuon smiled thoughtfully and nodded.

"Then I'll go with him. It must be so scary for him. I don't know what it would be like to know that certain things that I've gone through never happened," Kuon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to turn grey from all this worrying."

"It's for a good cause and you look a lot like your dad," Kyoko grinned. "In fact, you look like a younger version of the Kuu Hizuri I met the first time when we were filming Dark Mo—"

"Really?" Kuon smiled weakly, "You know my dad's hair isn't naturally blond."

"Is that what matters, Kuon," Kyoko said as she approached him and wrapped her arms around him. "What matters is that we love our son very much and we both want the best treatment for him." Kyoko let her fingers run through Kuon's hair and smiled. "You've always been so protective of me and the kids. You're a great father, you know?"

"I don't think I would have been half as good if you weren't here with me," Kuon smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. He brought her to his lap as he sat back down on the sofa. "I've learnt some very good things from researching this. It's hard to live with but we can make it work and I'm sure that with all the remote jobs that we can find something or even an online college, online high school, you should read all these forum entries that people have posted."

"I'm sure that he can do anything, we've always believed in him. So do you think you could take him to the doctor for a checkup whilst I go and pick up Kazuki from school?" he asked, "It feels nice to be a parent today and not have any work until tonight."

Kyoko nodded, "It's nice that we both have time but I think he'd prefer for you to take him to the doctor. You are his hero after all and you're mine too," Kyoko kissed him again before standing and leaving the room. As she walked towards the kitchen, she caught Rikuu staring off into space and rubbing his upper arm in a soothing manner.

"Hi, honey," Kyoko whispered as she looked him over, "How are you feeling?"

"Do you think that Dad's disappointed in me?" Rikuu asked as he ran a hand through his hair again. "I'm really sorry. I feel like I've screwed up, I've screwed everything up. I should have been a better son. All these years you put up with me and I failed you."

Kyoko looked at him before frowning, "How much of that do you think is true, Rikuu?" She came to sit beside him and smiled. "Your father and I love you with all of our hearts and so do Bella and Kaz." Kyoko wrapped her arms around her oldest son. "You've heard how I always had to fight to be able to get my mother to at least acknowledge me. I would never do that to you because I love you."

"Didn't you once swear off loving anyone?" Rikuu asked.

"Yes. I'll admit to that." Kyoko smiled, "Your father is hard not to love though and besides I met him for the first time when we were both very young. I didn't know him when he was in his teenage years but he's gone through a lot but now it makes him a stronger and more inspirational person and there isn't anything more important to him than our family. Your father would never reject you for being different or having an illness and neither would I."

Kyoko pulled out her phone and went through the photos before finding one that she had taken years ago and transferred onto the phone. It was a picture of her holding the phone and taking a selfie with her arm around Kuon and a tiny baby in his arms who he was kissing gently on the forehead. All of them were looking at the camera.

"You and Dad had me when you were young," Rikuu commented as he looked at the delicacy and affection with which his strong and noble father had held him. "Did you regret having me so -"

"No. There is nothing about you or your life that I hold regrets over. You are my son and you have no idea how much your dad cares for you. When I met him the second time, he was very disciplined on his acting and his journey to America and then I met him and realized how much of a playboy he is but also how sweet and special and wonderful and he cares about you so much. We'll work on it together but he just needs to help you so please let him." Kyoko tried to tell her son. "We love you."

"I love you too," Rikuu whispered as he saw his father step out and into the hall. "Dad," he said as he came and stood in front of his father, "May I speak to you?"

Kuon nodded, "There's something that I want to discuss with you as well," he told him with a smile. He sighed and pulled out a velvet box that Kyoko had bought for him one year and opened it. "I want to share my story about this," he said as Rikuu looked in it and blinked confused.

"You keep a stopped watch?" he asked and Kuon nodded.

 **End of Chapter Two**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you reviewers of Chapter One**

Ashenvale, Crazy4Animation, Kris, Mae


	3. Chapter 3 - A Guide to Parenting

**AN:** I know this isn't one of my most popular fics but I really hope that you enjoy it. I wanted to give a special thank you to someone who really helped me with my skip beat fics, **cindersarah** , I don't think she's written anything recently but she and I used to RP Skip Beat for years and years. There's a lot of influence and inspiration with the things that we roleplayed together and my fics so I really wanted to thank her even if she doesn't read these anymore.

 **Chapter Three – A Guide to Parenting**

Why was there never a manual that came with having a child? You could be at the hospital and the doctor tells you and your loved one that you have a baby of a certain gender and then here's a guide teaching you how to make sure they entered adulthood fully prepared.

Of course, having three children now, Kuon knew that all kids were different but he wasn't sure how to help his son with his problem. He closed his eyes and put a hand through his hair. Knowing what they would have done in movies and books aiming for a pop culture audience, the idea of whether a mental ward would be best for Rikuu had entered Kuon's head but it had quickly been shoved out.

Even if his career died because people couldn't accept his son, there were worse ways for that showbusiness candle to be snuffed out. That must be what his dad had experienced when he was a troubled youth. He had so much more respect for his dad after becoming a father himself.

At this moment, Kuon was looking back at his son and heard the words.

"You keep a stopped watch?" Rikuu asked as he looked at it. He had memories of seeing that watch of his father's before and he knew a bit about how his father had been a reckless kid who had felt a lot of internal pain and had been sent off to live overseas. He knew that his dad had felt that it was because his parents didn't want him but that was so far from what had happened.

"This was a watch that stopped ticking when my friend died," Kuon said as he looked at it and remembered the sound of Rick's body hitting the floor. He would never let himself forget that sound. "I didn't like the world when I was growing up. I thought that everybody in the world had turned against me and sometimes the only sounds I could hear was silence and my own heartbeat. I fought others but I liked the feeling of beating people, I liked the rush of adrenaline when I managed to use my force and agility to hurt those who had hurt me. My friend was punished for that kind of lifestyle and I was responsible for his death."

"Dad, I -" Rikuu said before following his father to the living room and took a seat. He looked down at the table before him and then ran a hand through his hair trying not to stress too much. He didn't quite understand what his father's point was.

"When I was your age, I was out of control and I lost it badly," Kuon admitted. "I didn't like life and life didn't like me. I was fired so many times and the rejection from all of it made it so that I could hurt people and just feel that it was natural. It's a part of myself that I've been trying for years to make up for. It's something that I've shared with your mother and she's accepted that type of a past. Do you know why your mother accepted someone who has as messed up as a past as mine."

"Because you gave her a magical stone that changes colors?" Rikuu asked referring to Corn which Kyoko had told many many times for a bedtime story.

"Because she knew my present. She understood who I was and that if I hadn't gone on that journey and through all that pain, I wouldn't be the person that she had fallen in love with. She accepted that I had a past and that I was flawed. Twenty years ago I never would have believed myself to be lucky enough to have someone like her. That's my point though. I was unbalanced as a teenager but because I decided to work on who I am and what I love, that anger and that pain left me and it was your mother who was anchoring me. Your mother is far stronger than I am and we want to be strong for you too. We want you to live the life that you want and we want to give you everything we have. We're your parents," Kuon sighed before looking forward. "Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Rikuu nodded before frowning, "This isn't the same thing though. You had a reason for doing these things a bad reason but…you weren't a freak."

Kuon shook his head, "They called me a freak but that doesn't matter. Do you think you're a freak?"

Rikuu nodded, "Dad, it's not right to see and hear people who don't exist."

Kuon sighed again before looking down. He closed his eyes and attempted to steady himself with some calming breaths. "Rikuu, when you see somebody who is unable to use their arms and legs, do you call them a freak?"

Rikuu looked at him horrified, "Dad. I would never do something like that. I mean -"

"and if you saw somebody who was dyslexic having trouble finding the words that they wanted to use, would they be a freak?" Kuon again asked and Rikuu shook his head.

"No, you'd help them find the right word or you'd give them time and wait until they were ready. You wouldn't rush them because they need to do things at their own pace and you have to have some understanding and respect for everyone," Rikuu replied and Kuon nodded.

"Yes. I hope that I show it too but your mother is an excellent person for this. She will always do her best for others and she's understanding because she's been bullied. She had to play some bullies before we were married and she had trouble relating to them in the beginning. So, that's why she's always taught you to consider others and treat them as you'd like to be treated," Kuon said as he thought back on how Kyoko had raised their kids to be and how sweet and kind his wife had always been. She had always been so considerate to him as a fairy prince.

"You do that too, Dad" Rikuu added as he thought about all the kindness that his father had shown to everyone. He had even helped members of the crew before and everyone knew him to be a very charming and charismatic person.

"I guess it comes from her influence," Kuon said as Rikuu opened his mouth but decided not to argue against his father.

"So, you two don't think that I'm a freak that needs to be sent somewhere because you won't be able to deal with me?" he asked and Kuon shook his head.

"We don't want to do that," he said which would give him a possible out if needed. Both he and Rikuu knew that they didn't want to use it but that it was there for his safety and protection.

"You have a doctor's appointment soon and I'm going to tak-" Kuon said but was again interrupted by his son.

"Dad, it's okay. I can go by myself. If you're seen in a hospital then won't people ask questions. If that causes a negative -"

"I'm taking you," Kuon said with a smile. "If caring for my son leads to a drop in my popularity then I don't want to be popular. Popularity comes and goes but my love as a father and a husband and even as a son is constant. So, I'll take you."

Rikuu smiled thoughtfully before looking back at the watch, "I don't think you killed your friend, Dad," he said but Kuon hummed and put the watch back in his safe box. Rikuu watched his father and noticed his body language. This was one thing in his dad's life that he would never ever forgive himself for.

…..

…..

Kyoko looked over at her youngest child, Kazuuki, as he sat in the back of the car with his plush Charizard toy. He made the Pokemon move as if he was fighting some of the other cars and Kyoko smiled as she stopped at the lights.

"So, I think that Daddy is excited to watch the next episode of your show together. Is your Charizard going to be in that one?" she asked since her little boy had started to love anime. She knew that Kuon tried to make time to watch the new episode with him but sometimes Kazuuki watched it twice because they recorded it if Kuon couldn't watch it air.

"No, but Pikachu is," Kazuuki laughed as he made the toy roar like a dinosaur.

Kyoko smiled as she looked forwards. When she was a kid, she was sometimes a little worried about how she could ever have a son. Boys seemed hard to understand to her and there were even some parts of Shou's world that she had been left out of. She was happy that neither of her son's seemed to grow up with that kind of ego. It must be the fact that Kuon was more of a perfectionist than someone with a giant ego and he always encouraged working hard to improve yourself.

He had been the best mentor to her as she had grown up and he was still her senpai in her heart. He had given so much to her and, like any skilled botanist, had been able to trim her branches to make her spread out and bloom.

"Are we getting Bella?" Kazuuki asked and Kyoko smiled.

"We're on our way to the station right now. Bella said that she'd wait for us there since she had an early end to her day," Kyoko grinned. She pulled up to where there was a convenient space (a task very difficult for Tokyo) and saw the girls with Bella's uniform come out. "Hey, let's see if we can see her, okay?"

Kazuuki turned to the window with interest before grinning, "Rikuu and I played like this," he said and Kyoko grinned. "He's my hero."

Kyoko laughed as she felt some happiness inside of her heart at hearing him say that. Hopefully it would make Rikuu feel better and feel as if he was included in this family. "Rikuu's your hero?" she asked just to clarify and Kazuuki's grin grew wider.

"Yes. He's my hero," Kazuuki laughed before pointing to Bella who was moving with a cake bag in her arms. She saw the car and bowed her head before going to the back and sitting in next to her brother. "Woooow, Mommy, Bella's bought a cake."

"I'm sorry," Bella apologized quickly before she put her seatbelt on. "I know that I didn't ask you about how to spend my money and I know that you usually make things but I know that this is Rikuu's favorite flavor and I'm really sorry," she said as she turned pale and saw Kyoko laughing at that.

"That is so kind of you, I'm sure Rikuu will love it," Kyoko said as she turned her attention to the road and pulled out. "Did you get some dry ice as well?"

"Of course, Mom" Bella said with a grin. "Who would buy ice cream cake with no dry ice."

Kyoko laughed again and shook her head. She managed to get on the right road to get them back home. "Who taught you guys to be so sweet," she said.

"You and Dad," both Bella and Kazuuki said together.

Hopefully she and Kuon could raise their children correctly. There wasn't any guide that was given to her after she had given birth of the right way to raise children. Would she have done better if a manual was available to her?

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **Thank you, reviewer of Chapter Two**

Kris


	4. Chapter 4 - Doctor's Appointment

**AN:** Not my most popular fic but I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it 😊

 **Chapter Four – Doctor's Appointment**

Rikuu nervously bounced his knee up and down whilst in his seated position. All of this was making him nervous and he wasn't sure what to do. He could see people looking at them and he flinched as he tried to keep calm. If he didn't keep calm then the hallucinations would come out again and he'd let his father down. "Dad, I -"

"Do you really think that putting mayonnaise on your head will help you not go bald," Kuon commented as he let his fingers brush through his hair and Rikuu stared at him with a slightly dropped jaw. Kuon showed him the magazine but Rikuu still felt uncomfortable. They were sitting in a hospital waiting room because he was a raving lunatic and his father was reading magazines. "Go on," Kuon told him, "Read the article, it's ridiculous how they try to hook people in."

Rikuu awkwardly took the paper, "Dad, aren't there other things that we need to think about?" he asked and Kuon looked around before smiling back at him.

"We can discuss the other things later. You're not going to be able to stay calm if you let them cloud your mind," he said as he squeezed Rikuu's hand. "Whatever is said though, you're not a disappointment to me or to our family."

"Even if I start putting crap on my head?" Rikuu asked and Kuon nodded.

Rikuu looked at the paper as Kuon managed to keep people away from the two of them. It was always in public places like this where he and Kyoko would meet fans who didn't know the meaning of the word "privacy". He wanted to keep Rikuu calm. However, if it happened that people came to know why they were there, Kuon's priority was protecting his kid.

"Hi, Rikuu-san," a nurse said as she approached the two of them. "Kuon-san," she bowed to him. "Will you be in the -"

"He's just going to wait outside," Rikuu said quickly and Kuon nodded. "Right, Dad?" he asked and Kuon nodded. "Umm, do I need anything, I filled out the paperwork," he told them and the nurse shook her head. Kuon picked up his phone this time and went into his email inbox. Just as he suspected there were dozens of unread texts. Maybe he could start reading them whilst waiting for the results.

…

…

"So, Rikuu," the doctor said as he approached the eldest Hizuri child. "It's good to see you again. How have things been since our last visit."

"Found out some interesting information," Rikuu shrugged before looking down. He felt ashamed of seeing a doctor and he wasn't sure how his father really felt about all of this. Surely, having such an illness would be this huge black ink blot on his resume that would never be able to be cleaned up no matter the amount of White Out you used.

"Hmm, interesting how?" the doctor asked as he took a seat opposite his patient.

"I found out I'm a crazy person," Rikuu said and the doctor hummed. "I realized…well, Dad realized that I've been seeing and hearing things that aren't there," he told him and the doctor nodded, taking down some notes on that. "Dad looked it up and said that I'd probably need to have a physical and then to also speak with a psychiatrist but…"

"But you're not comfortable with seeing a psychiatrist?" the doctor asked and Rikuu tensed slightly.

"It's not as if I'm unwilling to see them but I really don't want to get locked up in a crazy house," Rikuu said honestly to which the doctor just hummed. "I don't want to be called that psycho kid and I definitely don't want to let Mom and Dad down." Rikuu stared at the doctor who was looking at him patiently. He didn't seem to be looking at him as one of the circus's freaks but Rikuu wasn't sure what was in his mind at all. He just knew the discomfort that he was currently experiencing.

"So, we're talking about possible schizophrenia," he said and Rikuu nodded. "You know, you aren't the only one out there with such an illness. Out of one thousand people there are seven of them who have the illness."

"Wow," Rikuu said with a roll of his eyes, "A whole seven? My parents sure are lucky to have one of those then," he said sarcastically and the doctor hummed.

"It is treatable though, not curable, but treatable," the doctor look at him. "How comfortable are you sharing this information with your father? Do you think that he'd sell it to the -"

"Dad doesn't do that type of thing," Rikuu argued and then looked down. "I'm not scared of Dad spreading the information about my disorder and I'm not scared about Mom doing it either. Dad is a really great guy. I just don't want him to be ashamed of me."

"Why do you think that he'd be ashamed of you?" the doctor asked and Rikuu stared at him.

"You just said it yourself, only seven people out of a thousand have this illness. It's weird. It's strange and my parents would probably prefer to concentrate on their two normal children. I don't even know if my siblings are going to want me as a brother," Rikuu admitted and the doctor shook his head.

"I don't see that as being a problem, what you have isn't monstrous or contagious. As you've said, your mother and father are caring people and I think they want to do their best for you but schizophrenia is a condition that they need to support. I'm just going to do a physical though and make sure there aren't any other reasons that could contribute to what you're seeing and hearing and then I can make some suggestions about psychotherapy if you're interested."

"Yeah," Rikuu nodded to the doctor, "but when you give me those suggestions, can Dad be here as well? I know that he's trying to organize things and figure them out. I think he's doing his best so it would help him."

"I don't see a problem with that," the doctor told him, "Now, if you could change into the hospital gown so that I can make sure that you have all the tests you need," he stood up to leave before turning around and in a compassionate way told Rikuu, "Don't worry. It's going to all turn out okay. You just need to give it time for people to adjust."

…..

…..

Kuon had been doing his best to keep his head down and avoid the people gossiping around him. This was a more formal part of Japan, he didn't like the thought of it but all of the people in this hospital waiting room had a decent amount of money and very good health insurance. There shouldn't be people who hadn't seen celebrities or didn't have the contact details of at least one celebrity in their phone.

He had been thinking this when a woman of his own age sat down next to him, "Is this seat taken?" she asked and Kuon paused.

He wanted to tell her that he wanted to sit by himself and that he was waiting for his son. He wanted to say that he didn't want her there and that she was being very rude in being so forward. However, he had his reputation to uphold. "Go ahead and sit there, I'm not going to be here too much longer anyway," he said before she gasped and grabbed his arm.

"Please don't tell me it's a terminal illness. I've been a fan of yours for so long, Kuon-sama," she said as Kuon managed to get his arm out of her hands. He didn't like being touched and he definitely didn't like the type of fan who seemed to think it was okay for them to just grab him like this. "You name the body part and I'll donate it to you."

Kuon stared at her before grabbing his bag and standing up. "No, I'm not terminally ill. You…you enjoy that seat, I'm going to sit somewhere else," he said as she stood up to follow him. Okay, this was creepy and he wished he hadn't even engaged in conversation with her. He should have ignored her or told her he was with somebody.

"I'll follow you," the woman said and Kuon looked towards one of the hospital workers, his eyes begging them to intervene.

"I'd prefer you not," he told her, "I'm with my son. I would prefer to wait for hi—"

"Kuon-san," the doctor said as he came out into the waiting room, "Would it be okay for you to come into the room? I've finished the checkup but there are a few things that we need to talk about."

Kuon sighed in relief. Excellent timing. "Thanks, Doc" Kuon grinned to which the doctor gave him a blank look and they went into the room where Rikuu had just finished changing. Kuon was surprised that they could have done a checkup for this in…he paused, really it had been thirty five minutes?

As they entered the room, Kuon went to sit down on the chair nearest where Rikuu was. He looked at his son concerned, examining him for any observable health problems but he knew that he wouldn't be able to see his illness. It wasn't something that he could put a Band Aid on and hope that it would heal over time. This illness would most likely never be fully healed.

"To be absolutely certain on what is going on you're going to need to do a psych evaluation," the doctor said as he faced the two Hizuri men. "It might be something that requires an overnight stay in the hospital. We want to make sure that you aren't required for inpatient treatment."

Kuon opened his mouth stunned to hear that, "It might be that bad? I don't feel comfortable sending Rikuu to a mental ward, isn't there anything that Kyoko and I would be able to do at home? If giving Rikuu homeschooling is going to be better then we don't mind doing that. We'd just think that Rikuu would be more settled at home."

"I don't think that that's the reason you want him at home," the doctor commented and Kuon blinked. "You want him at home because you love him."

"Of _course_ I love him" Kuon said as he stared at the doctor, "He's my son. I'd be a terrible father to _not_ want him at home but…" he turned to Rikuu, "Is that what you would want, to be at home with us or would you…"

"I'm scared of going away from home, of being locked away," Rikuu said and Kuon grabbed hold of his hand trying to say that he would be there for his son no matter what. "That probably made me sound like a little kid. Only little kids say they are scared."

"I'd be scared," Kuon admitted and Rikuu looked at him. "I'd be terrified to not have you at home and not be able to know what is going on with you. I know that mental wards are sometimes beneficial to patients and not at all the horror locations that media tries to turn them into but I'd be scared of someone else taking care of you. So, if there is anything that Kyoko and I can do which would help Rikuu, please let us know."

"Would you like me to print you out some information on schizophrenia?" the doctor asked and Kuon nodded.

"Yes, I would greatly appreciate that, thank you."

As the doctor left, Rikuu turned to see his dad looking a little afraid of what was going on. Was his dad really scared that he had given life to such a freak?

"Dad," Rikuu hesitated and Kuon looked down, "Are you scared of me?"

"Never entertain that thought," Kuon told him sharply, "I am _not_ scared of you. I am scared that I will be unable to help you, to take care of you but I don't want you to think that any member of our family is actually scared of _you_."

 **End of Chapter Four**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to** Kris XD **for their review of Chapter Three**


	5. Chapter 5 - A Mother's Love

**Chapter Five – A Mother's Love**

Schizophrenia?

He had schizophrenia so he was completely and utterly insane and not only was he crazy, he had truly upset his parents and disappointed them. Rikuu had a lot of problems in his life so maybe it would be better for everyone if he just ended his life. His parents would probably be shown a lot of sympathy if they had a kid who killed themselves rather than someone insane.

He looked at the knife in his hand and turned it over in his hands. He was so weak, much weaker than he should be. It didn't take too much time to kill oneself and his dad was asleep and his mother was looking over a script in the li—

"What are you doing?" Kyoko asked as she stared at him whilst standing in the doorway. Rikuu's eyes widened and he looked up, dropping the knife on the ground. Kyoko crossed the room and went to sit next to him in the bed, skillfully picking up the knife without even pausing as she went to sit next to her son. "Seriously, what the hell were you doing, Rikuu?" she asked as she placed a hand on his back, sliding the knife under her leg where he couldn't get it.

"I'm sick," Rikuu whispered as he stared in front of him, "Isn't that going to be easier on you, on all of you if I'm just…not here any longer?"

"No." Kyoko looked at him with her eyes focused on his, she frowned before stretching her arms up. "It's not going to be easier, not at all and I'm angry that you even think such a thing. You think that your dad thought I was completely sane, sometimes I would get lost inside my character and so would he. I started to think of them more than myself but I would always try to find somewhere to root myself to. I managed to use a stone that he had given to me as a kid and then when I fell in love with him, your father became my strength."

"That's great that that works for you," Rikuu sighed, "It's great that not all the people that you meet are imaginary."

Kyoko shrugged, "I used to imagine fairies. I don't think it was quite the same as what you're going through but I felt comforted by that," she looked at the floor and sighed. "You know, your father really wanted your name to be Rikuu to honor two important men to him. I mean, you know how important your grandfather is to both of us but Rick, he's been someone who has always meant so much to your father."

"And so I must really be a disappointment to him," Rikuu said as he looked at the ground. He pushed a hand through his hair as his body shook and Kyoko wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him into her chest as she had done since he was a little boy.

"You haven't disappointed anybody, we're all rooting for you," Kyoko smiled. She wanted her son to be healthy, that's all that any good mother would want but she didn't know how to do it. There wasn't a magic wand that she could use to cast a spell and make everything all right, but as long as he didn't kill himself then she would feel better. She just had to keep him alive.

However, there was something that she had to tell him that might make the situation worse.

"Your grandparents are coming for a visit, they wanted to surprise us but if you don't want them to come then we can…I can tell them that it might be best for them to reschedule," she looked at him and Rikuu blinked at the floor.

"So, I can disappoint them by my insanity?" he asked.

Kyoko stood up, still keeping hold of the knife. "They won't be disappointed and you've just inherited a mix of mine and your father's creativity and it's gotten out of your control but that's fine, listen to me, it's fine because it doesn't control you. Insanity isn't a word that I want you to use but I'm far from completely sane. I think that I can get Mo—Kanae to explain that to you if you want a second opinion." Kyoko sighed before standing in front of her son, she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Rikuu, can you promise me something, a favor?" she asked and Rikuu paused before nodding nervously.

"Don't kill yourself," she said as Rikuu stared at her. "It'll break our hearts and show us how bad parents we are for you. Your father and I would prefer anything over the death of our beloved son. We're just human though so if you need anything, come to us, tell us what you need and we'll help you."

"I want you to lock me up," Rikuu whispered and Kyoko shifted awkwardly.

"Can we please discuss this with your father?" she asked, biting her lip so she didn't break down into messy tears. Her son was asking for him to be away from them. Kyoko didn't want him to be away from her, he was still her baby but she had just said that she would give him anything.

"No. If Grandma and Grandpa are coming then I want to do it before they come," Rikuu whispered and Kyoko put her hand on his shoulder.

"Can you just…wait here for a moment and not do anything? I'm….I'm not saying n-no but…we can't do anything without your father's knowledge. He gets a right in this," Kyoko kissed the top of her son's head before leaving his bedroom. She immediately went into her bedroom with Kuon and put down the knife on the dresser. Kuon's eyes flickered and he looked at the knife.

"Rehearsing?" he asked confused and Kyoko felt her body stiffen for just a second before she broke.

"No, Rikuu was…Kuon, he was…I think that it was more than self-harm," she wrapped an arm around herself as Kuon jumped up from the bed, his eyes widening in fear. She had seen this horrified look multiple times during his acting scenes but it was rare in reality. She saw the pain flash in his eyes and he went towards the door.

"He's okay, right? He's not…do we need an ambulance, did he have any other weapons?" he asked before stopping as he saw his son sitting on his bed and just staring off into space. Kuon felt himself fall to his knees, the adrenaline wearing off. Kyoko put a hand on his back as he steadied his breathing. At least his son was alive.

"I want to go right now," Rikuu told them and Kuon raised his head to look between his son and his wife. What was going on here? What was Rikuu talking about? "Can we…the doctor gave us that address and…"

"I told you that we don't want you locked up there. Maybe your condition isn't as serious as others, we haven't even tried medication. We can consider medication," Kuon said and Rikuu sighed. He hadn't wanted to hurt his father but he needed to make sure that he was okay within his own mind.

"I thought that somebody was trying to kill me last night," he told them and Kuon looked at Kyoko wanting her help.

The actress kept staring at her son, not blinking as she turned this over in her head. She agreed with Kuon. She thought that it would be better if they tried to face this as a family but she could understand the hesitance that her son was having. As much as she wanted to keep her son with her maybe the doctors could help him understand his illness better.

"Kyoko?" Kuon asked as he looked at her.

"This is what you want?" she asked as she approached Rikuu, "We don't have to do it this way. We can try different medications, have you home more, you don't have to stay at a hospital. If what is most comforting to you right now is being at home, not being with other people then we don't even have to have your grandparents visit."

"I think going to the hospital is best," Rikuu argued and Kuon froze. He didn't want his son to go there but he kept flashing back to the days following Rick's death and how his parents must have felt. He looked at his son, studying him before standing up.

"How about if we just go there before you decide?" he asked and Rikuu looked between his parents.

"Can I go with Mom instead?" he asked and Kyoko nodded, putting a hand on Kuon's arm.

"It'll be fine," she whispered and Kuon nodded slowly. He took a few steps forward and wrapped his arms around his son, he didn't say anything but just held him. He didn't like the idea of him not being with them but that must have been how his father had felt. Hopefully the two of them would return that evening and they could put all of this behind them.

…..

…

Rikuu had decided to give the hospital a try which really made Kuon uneasy. He wasn't there for when his son started his medication or to know the treatment regiment for him. Yes, Kuon still had some job duties that he had to take care of but family was most important to him, in retrospect it had always been more important even if not to Ren. Kuon felt like he was failing his eldest child who needed his help.

He walked over to Kazuuki who was watching Pokemon on the television and sat down next to him. "Is this a good episode?" he asked and Kazuuki nodded before climbing into Kuon's lap and he wrapped his arms around him.

"Mommy said that Rikuu went on a trip?" he said and Kuon nodded.

"He did but he'll come back, he's just gone to try something new," he said as he tried to grin down to Kazuuki. Kuon looked up as he heard Bella approach the two of them. "Hey," he said as Bella looked at him worried.

"I heard you and Mom talking last night," she told him and Kuon paused. He hadn't expected that but he suspected that now Bella knew about what was going on with her brother. "Can you tell Rikuu that I love him?" she asked and Kuon nodded. "I know a little bit about his sickness…" she said softly and Kuon gave a half smile but Kazuuki looked up at him, his eyes widening.

"Did Rikuu get sick?" he asked and Bella paused before sitting down next to them, "Did he have to go to a hospital to get better? Sometimes people have to go to the hospital if they get really hurt and then they get a cast and…"

"No, he's on a little vacation because he's older than us, Kaz" Bella grinned. She sighed and bowed her head as Kuon looked at the nine-year-old. She really was smart for her age and he was so happy that she hadn't turned on her brother or called him a freak. She really did love him. "Isn't that right, Dad?"

"Yeah, it's…" Kuon smiled at his daughter, "Just like that. We're going to have to miss him together, Kaz, until he gets back and hopefully soon he'll return," he said as he bowed his hand and Isabella reached to hold his hand.

"I know that you didn't want him to go," she said and Kuon nodded to her, she was acting so mature for her age. "Can I visit him?"

"We'll discuss it later," Kuon said before seeing Kazuuki's eyes turn towards the episode of the TV show. Kuon nodded to Bella who smiled nervously before they all watched the TV together. Bella knew that her parents thought Kaz was too young but she was excited that she would be able to see her big brother and make sure he was okay.

 **End of Chapter Five**

 **Thank you so so much for continuing to read and support this story**

 **Thank you to Kris XD for reviewing the previous chapter**

I also believe that Kyoko and Kuon would love and protect any child of theirs. They are both kind hearted people. I also believe that Sho would love his kids but Reino, I have the feeling that Reino would try to use any child to his own advantage


	6. Chapter 6 - The Violent Patients

**AN:** I wanted to get a whole slew of these together for a mass update but I think I've gotten sick and am kind of losing my motivation to write. Hopefully it comes back soon. To those following this story, I hope you enjoy and thanks for your patience with the update

 **Chapter Six – The Violent Patients**

"So," one of the medical doctors said as Rikuu entered the counseling offices of the hospital. He had decided that until he got his condition under control that he would be living at this psych ward. They hadn't given him his assigned room for sleeping and he was a little nervous at seeing if he had a roommate. Still, he shouldn't be judgmental because he sure as hell didn't want judgment to be passed on him. "I heard that your mother dropped you off here. Must be some condition."

"You don't know my condition?" Rikuu asked confused as he looked at the files. "I'm not sure what it mea-"

"You won't get special treatment," the doctor said and Rikuu pulled back.

"I'm not, I don't want special treatment," he whispered as he looked down at the ground. He could hear the voices in his head. They were laughing at him, telling him how stupid and insignificant he was. He just had to let them pass. "I…I'm diagnosed with schizophrenia."

"So your famous father put his career ahead of you. Pity," the doctor said and Rikuu blinked pretty confused on what was happening there.

"My father doesn't want me in here. He wants me at home," he said and the doctor stared at him.

"Don't you think you'll end up destroying his career?" she asked and Rikuu paused, sitting back a little bit. Doctors were supposed to help, right? He was only a teenager and she seemed to be threatening him but he didn't know how to stand up for himself. This wasn't right.

"My dad wanted me at home to figure things out together," he whispered and looked down. "I thought that he would benefit more from me being away from him. Caged, or something."

"Poor little rich boy," the doctor mocked him and Rikuu looked at her. "I know the perfect room for you down in hallway V."

"What does V stand for?" Rikuu asked and the doctor shook her head before getting an orderly to take him away.

…

…..

Kuon paced back and forth in front of the hospital building. He was an idiot. He should have put up more of a front, taken Rikuu away from everything where just the two of them could be alone. He could see the cameras in the distance and flipped one of the reporters off before entering the hospital. Who cared if he was seen here? He was a parent and he was prioritizing his son.

Kuon walked over to the main desk and placed his hand there, quickly apologizing as the force knocked a folder down. "I want to get a mandatory immediate discharge of a patient," he said as he looked at them and the secretary stared at him completely stunned.

"Hizuri-san, do you have the authority to do this?" she asked. "I know that you're a celebr-"

"This has _nothing_ to do with being a celebrity. I am demanding that you release Hizuri Rikuu, my _son_ , into my care. Tell me how to help him from home and I'll do it but I'm not letting you keep him. He's my child. I am responsible for him." Kuon looked at them, he knew that a dark aura was starting to appear but he was a father worried about his kid, surely they could cut him a little slack.

"I think the psychiatrist wanted to keep him here a little longer, for his benefit" the woman at the front desk said and Kuon stared at her. He didn't give a damn what _anyone_ , medical staff or otherwise said. He had a bad feeling about this place and he definitely didn't want to just hand his son over to them.

"I want to see him, right here, right now" Kuon fumed and the secretary nodded to an orderly.

Kuon sat down with his head in his hands. He just hoped that Rikuu was going to be okay. He knew that at his age, he was technically an adult mentally but this wasn't somewhere he should be. Who cared what the gossip magazines thought about him, this was his god damn son. He hadn't wanted him to be here in the first place.

As Kuon sat there, he heard shuffled footprints before a gasp and stood up. He had a quick look at Rikuu before the teen ran to him, wrapping his arms around him and shivering into his shirt. Kuon gently rubbed his back. Had it been the hallucina-wait a minute?

"Rikuu, I need to take a look at you," he told his son and Rikuu shivered before standing back.

Rikuu was sporting a black eye and some different bruises on his body, he was shaking and avoiding eye contact. This wasn't like him. "Are you okay?" Kuon asked, genuinely concerned, "What happened?" he asked as he took in the boy in front of him. Rikuu shivered.

"It's okay," he said nervously as he wrapped his arms around himself, "It's okay. I'm okay. Dad I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I came here. I'm sorry that I'm a burden to you. Can I please co-come home?" he asked and Kuon nodded.

"I don't want you here. I want you at home," he said before glaring at the orderly. "What happened to him?" he asked in a dark manner, his eyes narrowing as he kept one hand on Rikuu's shoulder.

"The doctor said that he's sick, that these wounds are self-infli-" the orderly said and Kuon gave a bitter laugh.

"Don't you _dare_ say that these wounds are self-inflicted," he whispered as he leaned forwards, able to scare the orderly. "Don't you dare to tell me that my son did this to himself."

"Dad, it's okay," Rikuu said as he tried to pull Kuon back. "It's ju-just a little bru-bruising…for-gget-t it"

Kuon took a step back, he tried to calm himself down but the secretary watched him.

"Hizuri-san, your son is psychologically ill, this could be part of his condition," she said and Kuon glared at her.

"Don't tell me I heard you correctly. My son has schizophrenia, his mind conjures delusions and hallucinations," he said as Rikuu shifted uncomfortably. "Are you really going to tell me that a hallucination gave my son a black eye?"

"You don't know a lot about schizophrenia, do you?" the secretary said and Kuon's hands shook against the desk. He turned away.

"I want to take my son home now and then I'm going to file a complaint against this hospital," he told them as they prepared the paperwork for his release. Rikuu took a step back, his body shaking at seeing the anger that his dad held. Maybe his dad would continue to love him regardless of this illness.

Once all the paperwork was signed, Kuon looked over at his son. "I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable," he whispered, "And I'm also sorry that I ever let you stay there."

"Dad, you never wanted me to be there," Rikuu told him, "and this black eye, it isn't your fault. I just don't think that talking about it, threatening a hospital is in your best interest," he whispered as he began to shake and Kuon stared at him.

"Can you tell me how you ended up getting that black eye?" he asked and Rikuu sighed.

"Not until we're back in the car," he whispered and Kuon sighed before nodding.

"Then let's get to the car," he replied.

…

…

"They put me in Hallway V," Rikuu said as he looked at his father now they were about ten minutes away from the psychiatric hospital. "Dad, can we stop somewhere. I'd like to get changed," he said nervously and Kuon looked at him before nodding as he drove towards a nearby gas station. They had handed Rikuu his clothes in a bag and Kuon was regretting not giving his son time to get out of the hospital pajamas.

"What's Hallway V?" Kuon asked, his eyes on the road.

"There are four hallways. Hallways A is mild to moderate psychiatric disorders, B is for more severe cases like mine, S is for suicide risk, and then there's V," Rikuu shivered and Kuon looked at him.

"What's V?" he asked cautiously and Rikuu looked forwards.

"The violent patients," Rikuu shivered and Kuon stared at him. Had they actually considered his son to be a violent person? Yes, schizophrenia was a severe disorder but he hadn't seen any sign that his son was going to be violent towards others. He was a great big brother with some self-esteem issues.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kuon said as he looked at him, unsure what to do in this situation. "You're not dangerous, Rikuu" he said sadly. "You're going to be at home and we're going to deal with this as a family." Kuon looked at him sharply, "No arguing, okay?"

"Okay, Da-dad" Rikuu nodded with a shaky breath.

Kuon looked at his son sadly, "I love you, we all love you. Do you want me to go into the bathroom with you?" he asked and Rikuu looked at him nervously.

"How about just the store…use that Kuon Hizuri influence to get the key to the restroom," Rikuu said shakily and Kuon looked at him before sighing.

"Sometimes I really wish there wasn't any Kuon Hizuri influence. I just wish that I were an actor who was treated the same as everyone else. No special treatment and especially no bias towards my kids."

Rikuu nodded and as Kuon parked the car, he shot up, wanting to get changed into his regular clothes more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. He knew that his siblings would have questions and he hoped that his mother didn't blame herself for the black eye. He had been the one who requested to go but now he had to deal with this issue by himself. What was real and what wasn't?

…..

…..

Kuon's eyes opened a little as he looked over an article, it might be a good idea and it was a way of keeping Rikuu out from the hospital. He would have to take a little more time off of work, a little more to the amount that he already took trying to be a father to his kids and a husband to his wife. This seemed like a good idea for the whole family but especially for Rikuu.

Kyoko slipped in behind him as she saw him reading an article on his laptop. She leaned in curiously seeing his serious expression, "Hi, I'm home," she whispered and Kuon reached out for her. "Where are the kids?"

"Welcome home. They're in their rooms. I think Kaz and Bella are asleep, I hope that Rikuu's getting some rest…" Kuon sighed and Kyoko blinked confused. "I had to bring him home, Kyoko. Those doctors have no idea what they are doing. There was an incident and he got hur-" Kyoko gasped and Kuon shook his head, "Just a few bruises, a black eye, nothing that an ice pack and some time won't fix."

"Still," Kyoko fumed as she made a fist, "They should be more careful, especially there where people need their help not their criticism." Kyoko leaned forwards and looked at her husband. He was looking up articles about schizophrenia and to be completely honest, Kyoko was glad that this was going to be something they attempted to handle at home.

"What's your idea?" she asked and Kuon looked at her with a smile.

"How about getting Rikuu a puppy?" he asked and Kyoko blinked surprised. "There's this article about this one man who had schizophrenia and he was scared to respond to stimuli because he started to not know what was real and what was fake. Well, he managed to rely on the dog, if the dog responded to the stimuli, it was real but if not he knew it was his….disorder," Kuon attempted to find the appropriate words for what to say. Rikuu would have to help him with that.

"I like the idea" Kyoko kissed his cheek. "Rikuu's always wanted a dog."

 **End of Chapter Six**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Five**

Kris XD, Paulagato


	7. Chapter 7 - What To Do

**Chapter Seven – What To Do**

Kyoko stared at her husband not sure what to say to him. She hoped that he understood the only reason why she had taken Rikuu there in the first place was that he had told her he would harm himself if he didn't get locked up. She hadn't wanted it. Abandoning her own child, that wasn't something that she ever wanted to do. She wasn't her mother and she loved each of her three children with all her heart. Rikuu was in a difficult situation and as much as she wanted her baby boy to stay at home, she was trying to do what was best for him.

Obviously, she had been wrong.

"Kuon," she said slowly with a deep sigh, "You should know that I just want what is best for Rikuu and I agree with you. I would prefer him here where we can take care of him and help him figure out the best treatment plan." She looked at her husband, her body shaking a little. "You know that, don't you?" she asked and Kuon blinked. "You know that I would never want to do anything to harm him. I mean, I stood by you for…"

"I know, don't worry about that," Kuon replied as he walked over to her and wrapped her up in his arms where she cried into his chest. "How could I not know how truly loving and affectionate and understanding you are. I know you wouldn't look at Rikuu differently."

"I want to help him," Kyoko nodded. "I want to help him but I'm so scared. I mean, I imagined fairies when I was younger, sometimes even at his age, but he's not imagining fairies, he's seeing some really painful and dark stuff. I don't like thinking about how scared he must be."

Kuon sighed as he pulled her closer. He was experiencing the same protective emotions that she was. He didn't know what Rikuu was seeing which made it harder. Besides, his son was too much like him and Kuon knew that before Kyoko he would internalize all of his issues and run off to sit alone. It was because of Kyoko that he had finally learned to open up and trust in others. He had been nervous about scaring her off and so had revealed things slowly but each time, she digested the new facts and still stayed by his side. He didn't have any doubt that this was what she would do for Rikuu as well.

Kyoko sobbed again and wrapped her arms around him. She just wanted for her little boy to be safe and happy and healthy and that was what any good mother wanted, Julie had been an example of that as well as Fuwa-san. They hadn't been like her own mother and she wanted to be a _good_ mother to her children despite her fear of not being able to do that at times.

They heard a squeak in the doorway and they turned around to see Kazuuki there holding to his toy Charizard. He had a fearful look on his face as he stared at his mother. "Mommy?" he asked and Kyoko tried to dab the tears out of her eyes before he could see them but it was too late. "Mommy's sad?" he asked and Kuon opened his mouth to speak but Kyoko beat him to it.

"No, no I'm not, it's okay sweetie," she told him as she tried to brush away any tears. "It's just allergies like Kenji's brother had," she said talking about one of his classmates. "You know, the way the dust made his eyes all red."

"It's dusty?" Kazuuki asked before going over to his mother and blew on her. "Maybe Daddy can blow all the dust away," he said, "like the big bad wolf."

"That's a really good idea," Kuon smiled before seeing Rikuu approaching his little brother, looking at his mother apologetically, knowing that he was probably the reason for her tears.

"Hey Kaz," he grinned to him and Kazuuki turned around with a smile, "Why don't we go play together?" he asked and Kazuuki nodded.

"Catch?" he asked excitedly and Rikuu nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Let's get the beanbag and then we can play in the living room," he said and Kazuuki nodded before scampering off. Rikuu looked at his parents nervously before dropping down into a formal bow. He closed his eyes and tried to hide from them so that they didn't see his sadness and guilt, he didn't want to cause them any further problems. "I'm so sorry," he whispered and Kuon shook his head.

"Darling," Kyoko said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "You don't need to apologize. Please don't feel that you need to apologize. Your father and I love you and you don't need to apologize unless you've done something wrong. Please never apologize to us for who you are."

"You're not to blame for who I am though," Rikuu said and Kuon moved forwards to him. He placed a hand on Rikuu's shoulder, pushing him up with his thumb a little bit.

"Rikuu Hizuri," he told him gently, "You are an amazing person who we love. People get sick and that sickness is not something that you need to apologize for. It's something that you were born with. We don't think that it's a fault or a defect but we want to help. We're just, we only have limited knowledge and most of it is about acting so we want the best for you and it's hard to figure out what that is."

"You know that's not true," Rikuu laughed as he stood up straight with the same strong posture that Kyoko had had.

Kuon opened his mouth in shock and turned to his wife. That was definitely the truth. How could he begin to think otherwise? How could the two of them prove to him just how loved he truly was?

"It is true, we lo-"

"No," Rikuu grinned, "I know that the two of you love me but I also know that the two of you have very high IQs. I mean, no offense, Dad, but Mom is a bit more intelligent than you are but you two are incredibly smart, actors or not. You just wanted to follow passion instead but thank you, thank you for accepting me."

Kyoko shook her head, "It's not something we need to be thanked for," she told him, "we love you, we couldn't stop loving you even if we tried to. You're our baby boy no matter how old you are." Kyoko grinned happily as she closed her eyes, "I agree though, I am smarter than your father."

"No argument here," Kuon laughed as he winked to Kyoko.

Rikuu smiled before his gaze directed to the living room, he looked down nervously. "It's okay, right?" he asked and Kuon blinked confused whilst Kyoko tilted her head to the side. "For me to play with Kaz?"

"Yes," Kyoko said as Kuon looked stunned by the fact that Rikuu had even considered that it wouldn't be okay. "He's your brother, you're his brother, just…Rikuu if something happens whilst you're playing or whilst you're doing anything that you feel your father and I should know about, just be honest with us. We can't help if you're not honest."

Rikuu smiled at them before making his way over to his little brother. "Come on, Kaz. I'll show you some techniques, okay?" he called out and the little boy grinned excitedly.

…

…

Kuon looked nervously at the door. His father had told him to expect him early as he had managed to sort out some of his work in America so he would be able to spend a few more days with his son and his family. Kuon was concerned what this would mean for Rikuu. Rikuu had always looked up to Kuu and Kuu had shared all his love with their five person family but Rikuu was nervous about acceptance and maybe he was scared even of Kuu.

Before Kuon had had a chance to tell his son, his father was at the front door, having told Kuon that he had already arranged a trip to the hotel from the airport and that he would be disappointed if Kuon inconvenienced himself without prior warning. He couldn't shut his father out forever and he was bound to notice that something was wrong.

Kuon walked over to the door and opened it, grinning as his dad pulled him into his arms in a bear hug.

"You're looking well," Kuu said before taking a step back as if to study his son. Those years of them being separated had only increased the fatherly affection towards Kuon and he was now more concerned with his health and happiness than when he was a teenager.

"I feel well, Dad" he said before stepping out of the front door and closing it behind him. Kuu looked at him suspiciously with an eyebrow raised. "How are you?"

"What's wrong?" Kuu asked bluntly and Kuon stared at him trying to pass of the surprise as confusion. Well, his dad had a way of sensing that something was wrong but this was Rikuu's secret to tell or not tell and he knew Rikuu didn't want his grandfather to see him differently.

"There's been some changes in the house but I can't discuss them," he said and Kuu raised an eyebrow.

"Changes as in home renovation?" he asked, "Whatever it is then I am still an able man despite having grandkids. It's not as if I'm unable to navigate my way around some construction and if there are still some men there, I've dealt with the famous thing for a while," he said and Kuon bowed his head.

"It's not home renovation. Home renovation might be easier," Kuon said and Kuu stared at him with a little annoyance.

"Kuon, if you and Kyoko are getting a divorce I might not be able to side with you. I mean, I'm sure you have your reasons but if it's to do with your lack of confidence…" he continued and Kuon shook his head. It wasn't to do with that at all.

"No. We're happily married, we have absolutely no reason to even consider a divorce," he said quickly and Kuu continued to stare at him. "It's not about me and Kyoko," he said and then heard a voice from the side. He froze. How had Rikuu even been able to get out here…why would he go through the trouble of using the side door so that he could investigate. Well, Kuon had answered that for himself.

"It's because of me that Dad's worried," Rikuu said and Kuu turned to his grandson. He smiled weakly and walked over to Rikuu wanting to hug him but Rikuu quickly stepped away.

"Rikuu, what is it? Are you okay?" he asked and Rikuu looked towards his father who was trying to come up with a reason as to why this situation was happening. Rikuu shook his head and took a step towards Kuu but as his grandfather showed he wanted to hug him Rikuu flinched. "Are you okay? What don't I know? You would tell me if my grandson was terminally ill, right?" he asked Kuon and Rikuu bowed his head.

"I'm schizophrenic," he said. He looked up waiting to see disappointment or fear or hatred in Kuu's eyes but his grandfather had a look of concern in his eyes but was still smiling. Rikuu froze as Kuu wrapped his arms around him. "Didn't you hear me?" Rikuu asked, "I'm schizophrenic. I'm ill. I see things that aren't there."

Kuu pulled Rikuu closer, "I know what schizophrenia is," he told him and Rikuu looked at him confused. "What difference does that have on the love I carry for my own grandson?" he asked and Rikuu sighed. Maybe his grandfather really didn't understand what that meant after all.

 **End of Chapter Seven**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Six**

H-Nala, PaulaGaTo

 **Author Response:**

Interesting information about the psychiatrist. The puppy will be in next chapter. Thanks for the support


	8. Chapter 8 - Ren The Dog

**AN: I've been attempting to update every 10** **th** **day of the month but got excited and updated early, hope you enjoy**

 **Chapter Eight – Ren The Dog**

Kuu stood at Kuon's side as the two of them sat outside the animal shelter. Kuon had told Rikuu to go in and select a puppy that didn't have any health issues and might be a good health care dog. He didn't enjoy the fact that this was going to be registered as a health care dog but it was the best for his son. "So," Kuu said as he directed his attention to his own child. "He seems to be coping with it well, considering what it is."

"The sickness," Kuon asked and looked down, "I don't think that he's coping well but he's coping better than I expected. I know that he's scared and this isn't that feeling of being on edge as if I had a split personality, this is worse for him. I mean, he's seeing this whole world that doesn't exist. How am I supposed to keep him safe in it?"

Kuu looked at Kuon and shook his head, knowing that they were getting looks from people who might want their autograph or a photo of the two of them together. If it wasn't for Kuon wanting for Rikuu to feel independent, they would be in the shelter with him.

"I'm sure that you'll do better than I did," Kuu sighed and Kuon looked at him feeling guilty that Kuu had believed the best thing to do was to send him away. That wasn't the best way of handling it but it had the best results. The past was in the past though, it didn't affect this situation.

"Dad, if it wasn't for you doing that, I would have never have matured on my own and Kyoko and I wouldn't be happily married. You shouldn't regret it. We're a family again now, there's not much more that you can change." Kuon looked at the shelter and then sighed. "Maybe you could help me with a legal problem. Rikuu was mistreated after he was hospitalized. He wanted to go to a psychiatric hospital and Kyoko took him. I would have never sent him there."

"Kyoko sent him to a -" Kuu asked and Kuon ran a hand through his hair.

" _Rikuu_ wanted to go. Kyoko wanted to help him and he was hurting himself, she was scared that he might kill himself if he didn't get any help so we went to get him psychiatric help and they somehow used him to get to me. I need to make sure to file a malpractice lawsuit but I'm scared that doing that improperly will scar Rikuu."

Kuu put a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it, hoping that his son would gain some confidence in this way. He was about to speak again but the two of them were interrupted by Rikuu who came out to see his father and grandfather. He had a weak smile on his face as he looked at the generations before him. He bowed his head nervously.

"Did something happen?" Kuon asked concerned and Rikuu shook his head.

"I just," Rikuu grinned as he turned back to the shelter, "I think I've found him. They are sorting to the paperwork right now but they want you to sign so that they can get all the health care stuff taken care of. I said that I wanted to get him chipped so that we can locate him."

Kuu grinned happily and Kuon took out his wallet, moving towards the shelter and following his son. Rikuu led them to where a young woman was holding a Shiba puppy that looked both cute and mischievous, very much like the owner. Kuon studied the puppy before smiling at Rikuu.

"Cute one," he nodded and Rikuu smiled again. He had always wanted a puppy but because of his parents's busy schedules, they had always reasoned that they had far too much work and time away from home to take care of an animal. At least this would be better for his son whilst they looked around for therapy and drug treatments that wouldn't require him to go back to a hospital.

"Have you thought of a name?" Kuon asked and Rikuu looked down nervously, he shifted awkwardly in where he was standing.

"I'd like to name him Ren, if that's okay," he said and Kuon laughed as he looked at the puppy Ren. He saw his dad grin and nodded to the name. He felt honored that his son would use that name for a dog that was supposed to be protective and helpful for him.

"Ren it is," Kuon grinned as he watched Rikuu take hold of the dog. He just hoped that this would be a good place to start. He wanted the best for his son, for all of his children, this situation just seemed to be testing his skills as a father more than he was comfortable with.

…

…..

Kyoko looked over at where Kuon was asleep without having realized it. She had been home for about an hour and a half and the kids were playing with the new Ren who was only two months old. They had explained that this was Rikuu's dog because he was a teenager and when they were older that they could have pets but Isabella had been able to figure out that it was for health reasons. She let Kazuuki believe what her parents were telling them.

Kyoko put her fingers to Kuon's forehead and moved them to the side, playing with a strand of his hair. He was so exhausted but he was working his hardest to protect his family. This was the Kuon that she continually fell in love with. "Kuon," she whispered and he seemed to stir a little. "Darling, if you're tired then you should take a nap. Go, take a bath or something, make some of those creepy Russian dolls."

"You really want to play the Heel siblings?" Kuon chuckled as he still kept his eyes closed. He sighed, "I feel asleep, didn't I? Must be getting incredibly old."

"What are you talking about?" Kyoko asked as she teasingly poked him in the forehead, "You're not old," she saw him open his gorgeous emerald eyes and slipped down to kiss him passionately on the lips. He laughed softly and she looked at the doorway where Kuu was stood. "Father," she said respectfully. "Could you take care of the children?" she asked and Kuu smiled.

"Don't be too hard on him, Kyoko, he does seem very sleepy," Kuu chuckled and Kuon sat up straighter, feeling a little insecure with the way he had gone to sleep without meaning to. Kyoko stood up and wrapped her arms around him before pulling him up.

"Let's go to the bedroom and talk," she told him and Kuon yawned which caused Kyoko to giggle and they went to the bedroom to talk about what was going on. Once they were in the room, Kyoko guided him over to the bed where they could sit down.

Kyoko's face turned serious and Kuon watched her. "Kuon, what happened at the hospital that worries you so much?" she asked and Kuon looked away. He hadn't wanted to go into details for what happened because it had been Kyoko's choice to take him there. She did deserve to know though. She was Rikuu's mother and they were supposed to be a team no matter how much the truth might hurt her.

"They sent him to a part of the hospital that was meant for violent people and they put him in a room with someone else, somebody who was actually violent towards others. It was messed up. He got hurt and he got bullied and I hate that they did that to him because they wanted to take it out on me," he explained and Kyoko turned back to him in horror.

"They hurt him because he's our son?" she said with her heart beating in her chest. She looked away, tears filling her eyes. She could remember when she and Kuon had greeted Rikuu in the hospital after she had given birth to him and how happy they were that their child was with them. All of their children were precious and treasured and she was angry because they had hurt her son who had needed help and kindness.

As she thought more on what Kuon had told her, her shock and surprise turned to anger and she felt some of her old grudges resurface. "I'm going to -"

"Don't do anything rash," Kuon told her and Kyoko shook her head though Kuon did notice that her hand had turned into a fist.

"I'm not going to do anything rash, Kuon," Kyoko said as she tried to calm herself down, "I'm going to go and speak to my mother."

"You mean, your mother who hates me and our kids?" Kuon asked and Kyoko looked at him with determination in her eyes.

"I mean, my mother who does not want any bad press directed towards her and who has a legal degree," she said and Kuon nodded slowly. He had to admit that Saena was a good person to turn to. He just wished that somehow she would change her mind on him and their family, she seemed to be on better terms with Kyoko. Why did she still feel that she needed to hate him to make herself feel powerful?

…

…

Rikuu was able to sleep a little longer this night. With Ren sleeping in a bed in the corner of the room. The puppy snored but it was good to know that there was a living and breathing animal beside him. Ren would be able to sniff out any real trouble and reassure him of what was normal and what was false. However, in the early morning hours, Rikuu felt a presence in his room and he looked up to see the person who had attacked him on a previous night.

"You gonna cry and get your father involved again?" he asked as he reached out for Rikuu who saw Ren still sleeping peacefully. He looked at the man again and tried to calm himself down with deep breaths. "You think that you know the real Kuon Hizuri? That man is going to mur-"

"Ren" Rikuu called out and Ren lifted his head, dashing towards Rikuu with a happy smile. Rikuu stood up and took the dog in his arms, holding him in front of the other man but it was as if Ren didn't see him. Rikuu took another deep breath in before ignoring the hallucination and brought Ren back to the bed. He sat down and ran a hand over Ren's back as the dog barked happily.

"You're not real," Rikuu told the man in front of him and the man smiled.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that you can't stop seeing me," he said, "not everything in life is real," he said and Rikuu cuddled Ren closer trying to take deep breaths and bowing his head with a smile. He managed to calm himself and when he opened his eyes, the man was gone. He'd have to try and take some medication to avoid this and he had the feeling it could get much worse but Ren had definitely helped.

"Let's play fetch downstairs, okay?" he asked as he picked up one of the balls and as Rikuu exited his room he saw Kuon looking at him.

"Are you okay?" Kuon asked concerned, "Did you see somebody,"

"I did," Rikuu said and Kuon looked like he was desperately scrambling to come up with what to say. "Ren didn't though so I knew that I was safe. I can't go back to sleep right away so we're going to play, we won't wake you up again," he said and Kuon sighed in relief.

"I'm so glad," he admitted as he pushed his hand through his hair once again.

 **End of Chapter Eight**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Seven**

H-Nala, Kaname671, PaulaGaTo

 **Author Response**

Thank you Kaname671 for encouraging me to focus on the hospital issue. Rikuu is just really scared about being seen as a freak by his family


	9. Chapter 9 - We All Need Support

**Chapter Nine: We All Need Support**

Kyoko knew that she could have hired a housekeeper, people who were as busy as she and Kuon were often did that and there had been people who had offered their services but it was times like this that Kyoko felt proud of. She was currently folding the newly washed and dried laundry and separating it into piles for each of her family members. She felt that she could be a housewife without it being a problem because, unlike Sho, Kuon was willing to do his fair share.

Kyoko hummed to herself before she heard the sound of Ren snoring and decided to look into the living room where Rikuu was sitting with a pile of books. They had decided that until he was stable enough to go out by himself, he wasn't going back to school. There would be whispers and questions but Rikuu would always come first.

"What are you reading?" Kyoko asked as she sat on the arm of the chair and looked at the books. Rikuu turned to her.

"If I was at school these would be the things that I'd be studying," he gestured and Kyoko smiled.

"Rikuu, it's not that I don't want you to go to school," she hesitated and Rikuu nodded. He understood this. He understood why his parents were keeping him from going as well. He wasn't angry at them but he didn't want to skip out on an education just because of his condition.

"You and Dad are really intelligent," he commented and Kyoko smiled, "I know that Dad sometimes lost interest in school especially as a teen, he's told me this but he's still intelligent and I want to be able to graduate."

Kyoko smiled as she picked up a math book and flicked through it. Maybe she should get Rikuu a home tutor, someone who could be very confidential in case he did experience an episode and see somebody. She put her hand on his back. "We'll make sure that happens. I'll talk to someone about this. We'll figure out our options," she said attempting to support him and Rikuu nodded. He wished it could be that easy but it most likely wasn't.

"I don't want to fail either of you," he told her and Kyoko stared at him wide eyed before pulling him into a motherly embrace. She held him close, trying to steady her breaths.

"Never," she whispered. "You could never fail us and we're so proud of you, I know we are. You're not giving up. You have something awful to face but you're not giving up. That's what is most important," she attempted to stress and Rikuu smiled. He definitely could feel his mother's love even if he was unsure whether he had earned it or not.

Kyoko looked to him again seeing so much in his father in him and sadly that included the insecurities as well. She stood, putting the book back down and wondering if a tutor would be the best option. She knew a lot of the material herself but she didn't want to be an airplane parent to him. She did love him though and she wanted him to know that.

"Tell me or your dad if you need any help," she called out and Rikuu smiled as he returned to his studies.

…

…..

Kuon sighed as he took a break and looked through the information he had bookmarked on his phone. It kept talking about people who grew up with schizophrenic children had to make sure to take care of themselves. It talked about how therapy might be supportive for the caretakers but he felt a little guilty about that. How was he going to be able to tell Rikuu about the toll this was taking on him. It seemed selfish to only think about getting himself help.

He saw the director approach him and put the phone away immediately. He wasn't going to risk Rikuu's secret and make him feel as if there was a huge spotlight on him. He had felt that imaginary spotlight on himself and heard the sounds of 'killer' and 'murderer'.

"You seem a little more withdrawn today, Kuon" he said and Kuon stood quickly.

"I'm okay to do the scene. There's nothing wrong, I can do the scene however you wa-"

"I'm not talking about the scene," the director said as he saw Kuon nervously run his hand through his hair. He turned to the side, the age and weariness showing on his face already. Now that he was a father, he had more concerns to think about and he was hoping that no white hair would form from the worry he had for Rikuu and his safety.

"Isn't that what's most important though," Kuon tried to argue and the director sighed. He looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I'll be sure to leave the personal troubles at home."

"I'm not asking for that either," the director said, "I know that you know how to balance that but you need to be on game for some of the stunts that are involved in this next scene. Everyone speaks so highly about your athletic abilities and we've all seen them on film but you're not as young as you used to be and during your youth, your health is at its best."

Kuon paused as that line went through his head. Could that mean that RIkuu's condition would worsen as he got older? Was there chance for his son to graduate and continue with his dreams? Seeing people who weren't there wasn't going to prevent him from a happy life, right? He would be crushed if it did.

"You mean mentally…" he said and the director looked back, surprised to hear that.

"Actually no, mentally in youth you tend to be your most foolish. Are you sure that you're prepared to do the scene today? You rarely ask for favors and I'm going to need you to be on your game as much as possible. I want Cain Heel levels of acting," he said and Kuon nodded trying to put himself into work-mode. However, RIkuu was one of those people who could easily make him forget what it meant to be an actor.

Kuon smiled as he approached the set and saw Kijima standing off to the side. Maybe it would help his mind if he were to talk to his old friend. He walked over to him and Kijima sighed. Kuon really hoped that he wasn't exhausting him. "What's going on?" he asked and Kijima smiled to him.

"I got an offer of a role, I'm surprised they didn't give it to you, said that I was their first pick," he said and Kuon laughed. He was glad that people other than him were being considered as the strongest in the industry. After he had gotten engaged to Kyoko and especially once the children were born, people didn't consider him a bachelor anymore and yet since he and his wife split, Kijima was attracting the hearts of many young and older women. No wonder they picked him.

"Good role?" Kuon asked quietly and Kijima shrugged.

"Kind of but they want me to go to this discussion forum tomorrow night," he said and Kuon looked confused. "They tell me that it's this biopic picture and the man had this schizophrenic disorder," he said and Kuon took a deep breath in. He was glad that he wasn't offered the role, it would have meant that he would have felt pressured to not disappoint Rikuu.

"What kind of discussion forum?" Kuon asked and Kijima sighed.

"This man who has been treating people with this condition for years, he's giving this lecture about the disorder and why it's not so scary and different things about it. I mean, I'm happy to learn, it's going to improve my role but being with other people…I'd prefer private training," he said and Kuon looked towards him intently.

"Is it an open event?" he asked and Kijima nodded, "Mind if I tag along?"

"As long as you promise not to try to steal my role," Kijima laughed before studying Kuon even closer. He paused. He didn't know if it was his right to say anything but Kuon never did anything like this because he spent all of his time focusing on either his family or his career. Sure, this discussion would probably help him with roles to do with mental health but it seemed more important to him. This wasn't a family issue, was it?

…..

…..

Rikuu had finished studying a few hours ago and was now trying to distract himself with other things. With Ren at the foot of the bed, he tossed a ball up and down in the air. He could hear Ren starting to snore and sighed before picking up his tablet and looking on the internet for something to amuse himself. He closed his eyes before hearing the doorbell ring. Another visitor? He didn't want to deal with anyone right now. He just wanted to be by himself.

He waited for a moment before hearing his mother call his name and his breath tensed in his chest. There had to be someone real there for his mother to be calling him…well unless he was hallucinating her voice. He took a deep breath in before tapping his leg and telling Ren to heel.

Ren obediently followed him down the stairs and Rikuu stood in shock as he saw one of his former classmates. This was a tomboyish girl who was on a number of sports teams and was known for the fact that she loved riding her motorbike everywhere. He had had a crush on her for a while but he suddenly felt foolish that he had once wished to be with her. He wasn't fit to be with anyone.

"Friend of yours?" Kyoko asked and Rikuu could tell that she was hiding her excitement. He looked at her warningly before stepping forwards to the girl, "Sakura?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"You haven't shown up to class for a while, there are rumors that you pulled out of school," she said and Rikuu looked at her turning paler, he wondered what else his classmates had been saying about him. "Rumors say that you got expelled but I didn't want to lose faith in you."

Rikuu could hear Kyoko twitching from behind him and he took a step outside with Ren. He looked at her before shaking his head, "I haven't been expelled. _Those_ rumors are incorrect."

Sakura smiled in relief before looking to Ren and petting him. "In that case you should be back at school soon, right?" she asked and RIkuu felt bad seeing that foolish smile on her face. She obviously didn't know the truth and maybe it was his turn to spell it out for her. He couldn't be with anyone despite his crush on her because he wasn't normal. He would hurt anyone that he ever attempted to get close to.

"Please leave," he told her and Sakura blinked in shock.

"Rikuu?" she asked and he turned to see her bike. He couldn't afford to cause her unhappiness. "Are you okay? I came over because I was worried about you."

"Piss off," he whispered and Sakura looked at him in complete shock. She picked up the bike helmet that she had put on the floor and that Ren was now sniffing. She turned to him hurt but then glared.

"What is this about? Why are you out of school? Are you sick? You shouldn't push people away because you're ill, it's not fair. You should let the people you love be -"

"I'm done with you," Rikuu told her before going inside without another word. He sank down, his back resting on the closed door. She was the girl that he had dreamed would become concerned about him but he didn't want to burden her with his own problems. He picked up Ren and held him close to his chest as Kyoko looked at him, her eyes showing her sadness.

"What happened?" she asked and Rikuu sighed and looked down.

"She shouldn't be with a crazy person," he replied and Kyoko opened her mouth to argue with him but she sighed and wrapped her arms around him as she sank down next to him. Hopefully things could be mended with this girl because what Rikuu had just done might create even more problems with his condition.

 **End of Chapter Nine**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Eight**

H-Nala, Kaname671, paulagato


	10. Chapter 10 - I'll Wait For Him

**Chapter Ten – I'll Wait For Him**

Bella was approaching the house from the driveway when she saw Sakura crying. She knew about how much her brother cared for this older girl. She was his younger sister after all, it was her duty to find some incriminating information about him but she knew enough that Rikuu would never choose to hurt Sakura this badly. "Hi," she smiled as she approached her and Sakura sniffed.

"Oh, oh, hi" she bowed and Bella went into an even deeper bow.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked as she tilted her head to the side. This girl had inherited her mother's gift of showing kindness and comfort to people that she didn't even know that well. She just had an openness and innocence about her. "Did Rikuu make you…"

"I thought that I would come and see how he is," Sakura sniffed, "he hasn't been to school for a while."

"I think that he's getting homeschooled," Bella said nervously as she took a step back. She had been told by RIkuu as well as her parents that his illness was a secret that it was very important that he keep but if Sakura started to hate him then it would be worse for Rikuu. Bella didn't know very much about it but she had listened to her parents conversations to know that Rikuu was seeing a reality that was different from hers and it was similar to when Alice was in Wonderland. That's why they now had a dog, or he had a dog, so that the dog could see what was real and what was fake or something like that. They wouldn't tell her too much directly so she had had to piece it together for herself.

"Why would that be happening?" Sakura asked and Bella felt her stomach fold.

"Please don't tell Rikuu," Bella said before closing her eyes. "He says you're really important to him so he probably doesn't want you to know but if you don't know then you'll misunderstand and you'll think that you can't deal with the fact that he's ill."

Sakura watched her carefully, her face turning more pale. "Like, ill, like cancer?" she asked and Bella shook her head. Tears pricked her eyes but she stood firm where she was.

"He has an illness in his head. People go to hospitals for illnesses in their heads. People get bullied at school for…" Bella said and Sakura hugged her. Bella started to cry and Sakura pulled her in closer.

"Isabella-chan," Sakura said as she kissed the younger girl's forehead. "Thank you for telling me. I think it's very important that you told me and I still care about Rikuu a lot. Thank you for explaining it to me."

"You don't hate Rikuu, right?" Bella sobbed and Sakura shook her head.

"No. It's not his fault and I'm sure that he's still the same RIkuu and he's still got the same heart but tell him to contact me. I will be there for him when he decides to contact me but otherwise I'll be cheering him on. I won't push him." Sakura promised. She hugged Isabella again before leaving and Bella tried to ease her tears so that she wouldn't be interrogated when she came into the house.

When Isabella entered she found her mother sitting down on the staircase with her head in her hands. Isabella nervously turned to her. She felt a little guilty about talking about Rikuu's problems with Sakura but she hadn't had a bad response to this. Wasn't that a good thing?

"Mom," Bella asked and Kyoko raised her head to turn her attention to her daughter.

"What is it darling?" Kyoko asked with a sigh and Bella came to sit next to her. She opened her arms for a hug and Kyoko wrapped her arms around her keeping her incredibly close. Bella sighed.

"Mom, Rikuu's illness…is it really bad?" she asked and Kyoko paused. She looked down. It wasn't good but he was still Rikuu. Having a serious psychological disorder didn't change who Rikuu was or what his character was. Kyoko didn't want to have Bella see him as some kind of alien entity but she didn't want to lie. It was probably something that he would have to deal with his whole life.

"He's not dying. Rikuu's illness isn't like a terminal illness," she attempted to explain and Bella watched her.

"No, I know," Bella replied, "It's in his head. That's what you and Dad said, that it was something he made up in his head but he doesn't know how to change the world that he's seeing around him. I just wanted to know why he made Sakura cry," she said and Kyoko sighed. She had wished that her son hadn't done that. She could understand this desire to not be in a relationship at this moment but to push away friends because you were scared. Somehow those people might find out anyway and they might not be as supportive.

"I told her," Bella whispered and Kyoko's eyes widened. "I didn't tell her what it was but she said that she supports him but doesn't want to push him and that she still wants to be friends with him."

Kyoko sighed but smiled. "Then let's hope for the best," she told her feeling hopeful as well. There were still things in life that her son had a chance to do.

…..

…..

Kijima looked across at Kuon who had even pulled out a notebook to take notes on the forum. There was something that meant more than just trying to act out a role and Kijima felt a little shock as he saw Kuon list down possible medications and their side effects. As there was a pause in the discussion, Kijima looked across at Kuon.

"You know someone with this illness?" he asked and Kuon's eyes widened.

"No, no," he said quickly and Kijima watched him curiously. Usually Kuon was calm and laidback. He was able to respond most times with a very smooth reply that matched his personality and was able to hide any painful emotion. "I mean, no…I don't…I just, I was interested."

Kijima nodded slowly. He stretched and then looked around at people stealing glances at the two of them. "Well, you've been taking a lot of interest in this," he said and Kuon stared at him nervously.

"It's a very interesting subject," he said and Kijima nodded. "I mean, how many times have you heard about this illness?" he tried to laugh which made Kijima even more suspicious.

"Do you have it?" Kijima asked and Kuon looked at him and then stared down at the notebook. It was better to take this bullet himself despite what that meant for his career than let Rikuu suffer with it. Kijima paused as he heard Kuon's silence and put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Man, if you have it, that sucks but you know that it's going to be okay, right?"

"Yes," Kuon nodded. "I do know that. It's nothing. I don't have it but I'm just thinking what if I did? Would I be able to expect to go home and expect Kyoko to care about me?" he sighed. As long as he steered this conversation towards himself, there was less chance that Kijima would guess about Rikuu. His son's future meant so much more than his own.

"Kyoko isn't that fickle. If she's promised her heart to you then she's promised her heart to you," Kijima commented, "and your kids adore you. I'd feel very fortunate to have your life."

"Your life isn't bad either," Kuon commented and Kijima nodded.

The two of them could hear that the intermission would be a bit longer and Kijima stood, gesturing to Kuon. "Come on," he said in a friendly manner, "let's get something to drink. It's pretty warm in here." Kuon sighed before nodding and following his friend out of the room. As they stood there they heard the sound of phone cameras and Kuon rolled his eyes.

"So, where are the drinks?" he asked. Kijima looked around but as they stood there, a young woman approached them with a microphone and notebook. Kuon's eyes widened. Was this girl from a university or something? Had she been sent out to cover the discussion.

"You're Hizuri-sama, right?" she asked excitedly and Kuon nodded.

"Sorry, I offer my apologies but my friend and I are quite busy," he said and then saw Kijima walk off on his own. Kuon sighed and turned back to the reporter. "Is there something that I can help you with?" he asked, attempting to smile through the interruption.

"I thought I heard you and your friend discussing that you might have this illness?" she asked and Kuon shook his head.

"You heard incorrectly," he told her and the girl tilted her head to the side. "I have not been diagnosed with this illness."

"Okay, do you know someone who has been?" she asked and Kuon raised an eyebrow.

"I don't have to answer that question," he said as he thought about Rikuu and whether lying right now would help his son later or just protect him for the time being. The girl nodded slowly. "I don't wish to comment on that at this time."

"Yeah, I think that if anyone had this disorder, they'd be pretty messed up," she said and then saw anger in Kuon's eyes. She smiled as Kuon felt a picture being taken of him. "Don't you agree?"

" _If_ I knew anyone who suffered from this disorder, I would certainly not call them messed up. Maybe they are unfortunate but it doesn't mean that they won't have a happy life or the kind of life that they deserve," Kuon argued and the girl wrote this down in her notebook. "I will support those who have this illness and I came here to learn more about it."

"There's someone that you're protecting, isn't there?" the girl continued and Kijima came back with two beers at that moment. He looked between Kuon and the reporter.

"Hey," he said with a laugh as he came to them, "I didn't think that there would be press at this time. I mean, isn't this supposed to be a compassionate event?" he asked. "Kuon is my guest, I'm here in order to learn more about my character for my next role and Kuon agreed to accompany me so I didn't get too bored."

"So, it's you that he's protecting," the girl asked and Kijima shook his head.

"I'm an actor, researching my role is most important," he said and Kuon looked to him, glad that he was able to distract the reporter long enough for her to be distracted. Kijima gave Kuon a look to tell him to wait in another area of the hallway.

As both of them managed to detach themselves from the young woman, Kijima turned to Kuon with a recognized seriousness in his eyes.

"You should tell me if you're protecting someone with this. You know that I wouldn't betray your trust." Kijima urged and Kuon bowed his head, taking slow breaths. "You took so many detailed notes. Is it Kyoko?" he asked and Kuon looked at him.

"If this ends up in any paper or media footage then I will no longer be your friend or want anything to do with you," he warned and Kijima sighed.

"You should know that I'm not going to tell anyone but you're not acting like yourself. So, it _is_ Kyoko. Well, I can't say that I'm not surprised. She's always seemed to -"

"Rikuu," Kuon said and Kijima fell silent. "I will protect my son with not only my career but my life. He's only a kid and if you ruin his -"

"I would never," Kijima said before humming, "anything that I can do to help the kid?" he asked and Kuon looked to him, he was about to shake his head but he bowed it and took slow breaths.

"I'll let you know," he replied and Kijima looked at him guiltily. Of course Kuon would protect his son with his life. Kijima would never doubt that about the natural blond.

 **End of Chapter Ten**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nine**

H-Nala, Kaname671


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